Wedding Customs

A wedding...a celebration of the love between a man and woman (or other, if you are gay or lesbian) , a promise for a future together...and people are invited to this celebration to share with us in our commitment of love. Well, Erwin has been invited to a wedding of his colleague at work. This has happened in the past as well and it's just something I don't understand. Erwin was invited, I was not. Okay, so I don't know the couple, have never met them or even seen them as the guy is new in Erwin's office. And I can understand inviting colleagues to the celebration if you so choose. What I can't understand is not inviting their partner. If this is a celebration of love and marraige, shouldn't I be able to attend with MY husband, my partner and my love? Why should he go off to a celebration of marraige without his wife? Really, I don't care about going to this wedding. I hope Erwin has a good time, a chance to get out and socialize on a personal level with his colleagues...but the philosophy behind this just seems irrational to me. I realize it saves money by not inviting everyone and their "dog", but then why invite the colleagues either? What's another $100 when it comes to wedding costs? This is a very personal celebration...why is it expected to invite people from work. In most cases, colleagues are work friends, not personal friends. Still, it is the custom here. As is the different forms of invitations. It takes an entire class to understand invitations to things here. There are the wedding invites, the reception invites, and the party invites...which you get is your level of closeness with the couple. As colleagues, you are generally only invited to the party. This is also a case with funerals. I am always confused by where I am suppsoed to be and when when we receive an invitation in the mail.

I just think it is interesting, this difference between my home and my home. Although it doesn't much matter to me, I wish I could understand the concept behind this wedding experience. I just don't get it...